Vaping

With the recent announcement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb talking about the possibility of curtailing the marketing and selling of flavoured vapour products, it is timely that the Centre for Substance Use Research should have recently published a paper on the topic.

The CSUR came under fire when it published the Pleasure of Smoking report because, among other things, CSUR receives some funding from (you guessed it) the tobacco industry. Notably British American Tobacco and PMI. The same PMI that has kickstarted the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. So naturally, you can assume that the usual suspects will view this paper with the same disdain.

Yesterday demonstrated the effects of a coordinated effort to discredit one of the most disruptive technologies that has several groups within “public health” worried. Not only for their funding source, which is neither here nor there, but also for the steadily decreasing relevance.

Naturally, the media headlines don"t really get to the bottom of the issue:

FDA puts e-cig makers on notice: Fix “epidemic” teen use or products may be pulled from market

As both Snowdon and Puddlecote reported today, the EU - along with 167 other signatories to the WHO FCTC - are set to travel to Geneva for the Conference Of the Parties session 8 (COP8), whereby they’ll completely ignore the founding principles of the Protocol - as I discussed recently.

As with any gathering of the soulless anti-smoking extremists, there’s always going to be something that is a step too far. In this case, it is all about the “depiction of tobacco use in the arts”. The proposal for this is here, whereupon the ‘Expert Group’ grandly report thus:

“The Eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is less than three months away. Taking place in Geneva from 1 to 6 October, it will focus on topics such as the shaping of a medium-term strategic framework, which will determine the actions to be taken by the Parties over the next five years, and the advances and challenges revealed in the Global Progress Report on Implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Anyone remember when the United States was all about the entrepreneur? How many sought their fortunes, the “American Dream” (including the white picket fence) and so forth?

It seems that modern day America is now home to the corporations (very Continuum-like). So who better to look after the health and wellbeing of the population, than profit-driven mega-entities eh?

You’ll remember that, around this time last year, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb made an interesting, and somewhat controversial, announcement. Controversial for the likes of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids anyway. So controversial in fact, that they filed a lawsuit urging the FDA to apply the new rules.

Cast your collective minds back folks. June 14th 2016, these words were uttered in the House of Lords:

As far as the Treasury is concerned, it does not impose duty on e-cigarettes because tobacco is not involved and it has no plans to do so.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

A sentiment that has been echoed elsewhere (though, irritatingly I can’t find the link) by a Health Minister/Secretary/Under-Secretary.

Long story short, the UK Government has “no plans” to introduce taxation of vaping products.

I almost missed this but, recently the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest dataset for the Adult Smoking Habits in the UK which showed some interesting points. Naturally, those points are being spun to show how “successful” measures have been.

Duncan Selbie, Public Health England has proclaimed that “Britain is winning the war on tobacco”, which for many in ‘public health’ is what it is all about. Sod the Proles and their little enjoyable vices. ‘Public health’ have set targets and by Jove, they’ll be met!

Things have kind of gone to hell and back recently, so I have had zero time at all to put my fingers to key and keep this blog updated. Much has happened which has been thoroughly discussed elsewhere. I may revisit some of those points at some point in the near future, but that depends on time; which as I’ve already pointed out, I don’t have a lot of. Who knew married life would be so busy?

If like me, you call “bullshit” whenever a news article claims that “e-cigs are as bad as smoking”, you’ve probably been playing the same game of bullshit bingo as I have.

Trouble is, I never seem to win anything.

The latest headlines, generated by a dodgy press release naturally, to spread like wildfire is, of course, all about “toxic metals” found in the liquid and aerosol. Naturally, when I first saw the headline, I uttered the now infamous phrase: “I call bullshit”.

As noted in 2006, ahead of the free vote to ban smoking in public spaces:

It is essential that campaigners create the impression of inevitable success. Campaigning of this kind is literally a confidence trick: the appearance of confidence both creates confidence and demoralises the opposition.

They “knew” they were going to win, and thus were confident in securing the votes for their “next logical step” in the war on smokers.